Amador Valley High School’s Guard program participates in two scholastic Guard Associations, extending the season to nearly year-round. Color Guard runs through the fall season, while Winter Guard begins in mid-November and ends in early April.
“I really like the community that we have as a team because everybody knows everybody and we’re a really close family and…you get over the difficulties together,” said Winter Guard JV member and Color Guard team member Kanak Rathi (‘29).
Pressure makes diamonds
Winter Guard, with both a varsity and a JV team, participates in countless competitions over the season. AVHS’s Guard holds numerous accolades, with Varsity winning the Scholastic National Division at WGI West Power Regional in 2024. Despite the pressure of these competitions, the team benefits from and enjoys the bonding that these tournaments bring.
“Going to SoCal last year…for a pretty big competition. You get to spend a lot of time with those people, especially at competitions like that, where you’re there all day, and so you just bond with people a lot, and it’s really nice,” said Winter Guard Varsity and Color Guard Captain Ace Yu (‘26).
Success Despite Distinctions
The contrasts between Color Guard and Winter Guard go past just the different seasons. Color Guard works in tandem with the band, as they perform with the band’s live music. On the other hand, Winter Guard is on the floor, indoors, and performs with prerecorded music. The number of players greatly varies as well.
“Our team of Fall Guard is a lot bigger [around 280 people], and the [Winter Guard] varsity team is only 20 people, so I think bonding with that new group and performing with them so quickly is kind of a difficult task,” said Winter Guard Varsity member and Color Guard soloist Grace Choe (‘27).
Additionally, the level of responsibility and freedom differs between the programs, as the stage and performances change.
“[In Color Guard] everyone else [has] completely different responsibilities from you…[while in Winter Guard] you do have to be more individually responsible for your show, because [there are fewer] people and your audience is much closer,” said Yu.
Essential Strengths
Despite their differences, both programs provide opportunities and growth. For Rathi, her first year in color guard has brought her invaluable experience and skills.
“[I’ve learned] to not give up, because you have to learn to do tosses in Color Guard, and sometimes it’s hard because you keep dropping it, or it just doesn’t look good enough, but once you figure out your way of doing it, it works out really well,” said Rathi.
Amador’s Guards not only teach determination, but also illuminate key attitudes that are instrumental to future success.
“I think for me, Guard has taught me the importance of hard work and having grit. It’s taught me that you have to be flexible and not everything works out the way you want it to work out, but that’s okay,” said Choe.
